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Issue 207 September 2018 • www.digitalcameraworld.com
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ways to shoot
AUTUMN
CANON vs NIKON!
FULL-FRAME MIRRORLESS
Wildlife Landscapes Birds Fungi Get creative this fall! N e w S e r i e s!
Astrophotography pro masterclass Help Me Buy Camera College Practical Photoshop Quiz & more
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Welcome
Senior art editor Rebecca Shaw rebecca.shaw@futurenet.com Contributors James Abbott, Jon Adams, Jo Bradford, Benedict Brain, Maisie Cloke, Graeme Green, Georgine Hodsdon, Andrew James, Catherine Kirkpatrick, Quintin Lake, Rod Lawton, Sean McCormack, Andy McLaughlin, James Paterson Cover image Getty Images Photography Bath Photo Studio All copyrights and trademarks are recognised and respected Advertising Senior advertising sales manager Sasha McGregor sasha.mcgregor@futurenet.com Account director Matt Bailey matt.bailey@futurenet.com Commercial director Clare Dove clare.dove@futurenet.com Media packs are available on request International Digital Camera is available for licensing. Contact the International department to discuss partnership opportunities International licensing director Matt Ellis matt.ellis@futurenet.com Subscriptions Email enquiries contact@myfavouritemagazines.co.uk UK order line & enquiries 0344 848 2852 Overseas order line and enquiries +44 (0) 344 848 2852 Online orders & enquiries www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk Magazines marketing director Sharon Todd Circulation Head of newstrade Tim Mathers Production Head of production US & UK Mark Constance Production project manager Clare Scott Advertising production manager Joanne Crosby Digital editions controller Jason Hudson Production manager Vivienne Calvert Management Brand director Matt Pierce Group content director Paul Newman Head of art & design Rodney Dive Printed by William Gibbons on behalf of Future Distributed by Marketforce, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU www.marketforce.co.uk Tel: 0203 787 9001 We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and socioeconomic standards. The manufacturing paper mill holds full FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification and accreditation. All contents © 2018 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to them. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. If you submit material to us, you warrant that you own the material and/or have the necessary rights/permissions to supply the material and you automatically grant Future and its licensees a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in any/all issues and/or editions of publications, in any format published worldwide and on associated websites, social media channels and associated products. Any material you submit is sent at your own risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents, subcontractors or licensees shall be liable for loss or damage. We assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and reserve the right to edit, amend, adapt all submissions.
here are watersheds in your life, which you often not recognise as momentous moments in history until years later. In my career, I have witnessed two huge milestones in the history of cameras. My earliest, as a cub reporter, was the advent of autofocus. More recently, it was the brutal way in which digital imaging all but killed off analogue film. This month, I have had the privilege of witnessing the arrival of Nikon and Canon into the full-frame mirrorless party – which until now Sony has had solely to itself. (You can read all about this on pages 110-120.) Can mirrorless really kill off the DSLR? For me, full-frame is where it is at (as we explain on page 52). Full is where I started as a hobby photographer, with 35mm film, and where I have returned to. Do the EOS R and the Nikon Z system mark another watershed moment in history, though? Only time will tell!
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ISSN 1477172 (Digital Camera) 1479001 (Digital Camera World)
Chris George, Group editor-in-chief chris.george@futurenet.com Future plc is a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR) www.futureplc.com
Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244
OCTOBER 2018
D i g i ta l C a m e r a
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Contents
96
Shootout _ Digital Camera readers visit a martial arts venue to test their action photography skills
Photo skills
8
One to One
Alyn Wallace’s astrophotography
14 P hoto Active
60
Win £30,000 in prizes!
he Art of Seeing 37 TBen Brain builds a narrative series
88
Hotshots
40 2 5 ways to
96 Shootout
Abstract landscapes and dynamic cars
shoot autumn
amera College: 52 CFull‑frame Find out why full-frame matters
69
hot of the Month 59 SHenrik Spranz’s marmot moment Practical Photoshop Image-editing skills, including how to use your free Landscape FX Pack
140 Interview
Réhahn’s stunning portrait photography
D i g i ta l C a m e r a
Photographer of the Year is back
Our gallery of the best reader pictures
Two readers shoot action photography
The best ways to capture the season, from forest landscapes to macro fungi
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Regulars offer 38 SGetubscription a bag when you sign up today
OCTOBER 2018
hoto Answers 104 PResident know-it-all Andrew James tackles your kit and technique queries
ate my Photo 108 RA reader shoots through welding glass
109 The Perimeter
The 6,000-mile photo walk continues…
n Focus 110 ICanon vs Nikon full-frame mirrorless
154 What the f/stop!
How well will you do in our new quiz?
Issue 208 OCTOBER 2018
FREE!
Landscape FX Pack plus 30 free textures
69
Practical Photoshop _ Our new-look guide to the digital darkroom
126
Photo editors Group Test _ 10 great ways to edit and enhance your shots
Gear & tests ikon Z7 116 NYou’ve read the hype – now find out if this full-frame mirrorless model delivers
eica M10-P 122 LThe latest in Leica’s enduring series of rangefinders offers a touchscreen
amron 100-400mm 125 TTamron’s latest telephoto zoom combines strong results with an affordable price tag
hoto editors 126 PAdobe’s Photography Plan takes on eight compelling alternatives in our Group Test
bags 134 STheling fast and informal way to store and access your kit: six options tested
onitor calibrators 136 M Achieve accurate screen colour as we test six ways to calibrate your display
elp Me Buy a… 138 HFlashgun How to choose an external light source www.digitalcameraworld.com
Contents
Free camera bag when you subscribe Page 38
This month’s contributors Réhahn Portrait photographer Réhahn has travelled the world for his art, but his main focus now is on the tribes of Vietnam. Explore his work and get inspired by his views on page 140.
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Benedict Brain
Canon vs Nikon _ Full details of the new full-frame mirrorless models – plus Nikon Z7 tested on page 116
Creative photographer A recent trip to Alaska and its unexpected contrasts gave Ben the perfect opportunity to explore narrative in a photo series, as he reveals on page 37.
Alyn Wallace Astrophotographer Alyn is a creature of the night, staying up late to capture amazing starscapes and time-lapses. We join him for a nocturnal shoot on page 8.
Jo Bradford
138 40
Smartphone photographer
Steve McCurry interview_ The king of composition talks about life autumn and his new online trainingnature courseand 25 ways to his shoot _ How to capture
Jo has embraced the smartphone for her photography, and her series explains how you can do the same. On page 32 she looks at storytelling in a 365-day project.
wildlife in the new season, with tips from the pros
Andrew James Our man with all the answers Andrew’s photography career sees him take on all sorts of challenges, and his in-depth knowledge means he can solve your queries. See page 104.
Quintin Lake Roving photographer
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Quintin has set himself the task of walking all 6,000 miles of the UK coastline. In his series, he shares his stories and offers advice for location shots. See page 109.
Photo Active _ Creative inspiration and practical tips to get you shooting, including crystal ball landscapes
www.digitalcameraworld.com
OCTOBER 2018
D i g i ta l C a m e r a
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Free gifts
Every issue we bring you more than any other photo magazine
9 all-new tips cards
START COLLECTING THE NEW SETS!
Our ever-popular tips cards have had a makeover, and there are now three separate sets to start collecting. In addition to the Camera Skills cards, you will now find cards which will help you with posing portraits, and tips with setting up studio lighting.
164-page Camera Shopper ebook Looking to buy a camera or a lens? There are plenty of reviews of new gear in this issue, but this 164-page PDF guide will give you reviews of 120 more SLRs, CSCs and lenses. Find this in the Gifts folder on the disc.
Landscape FX Pack plus 30 free creative Photoshop textures Jon Adams’ brilliant Landscape FX Pack lets you transform photos with just a few clicks: he explains all on page 70. Plus: 30 cool textures, with full instructions on the disc!
64 minutes of video Once you’ve read our Practical Photoshop section, explore our expert techniques in more detail with over an hour of Photoshop and Lightroom video training on the disc.
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OCTOber 2018
Watch the video on your disc
Whenever you see this logo you can find related content on this issue’s video disc.
FILE & VIDEO On the disc or www.bit.ly/ dc206disc
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one to one
Master astro Every month we join a top pro for a one-day masterclass. This issue, Chris George goes to Wales with astrophotographer Alyn Wallace in search of the stars
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OCTOBER 2018
www.digitalcameraworld.com
Master astro with Alyn Wallace
Your pro tutor Alyn Wallace
Alyn Wallace studied astronomy, engineering and physics, but is now a full-time astrophotographer, and runs workshops near his home in Wales, and beyond. www.alynwallacephotography.com
he heat of the summer sun is starting to fade as we walk down the long path down to Three Cliffs Bay, which sits below the mediaeval ruins of Pennard Castle on Wales’ Gower Peninsula. It is a location that Alyn Wallace knows well, and has helped to promote: his recent images of the neon-blue-glow bioluminescent plankton in the bay have gone viral. The natural phenomenon is unpredictable, but there is a chance we could see it tonight – and others arriving on the beach are obviously hoping this too. Alyn explains that there is a lot of planning needed for a astrophotography shoot, to ensure you are in the right place in the right time. He has chosen a night with no moon, and one where there is a low tide late in the night. A suite of apps on Alyn’s phone (see page 13) shows his homework, and gives us our rough itinerary for the night. The Milky Way will look at its best over the cliffs just before
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midnight – and the International Space Station will pass overhead at 1.40am, and be visible for just over two minutes. Despite some people thinking that astrophotography is a winter pursuit, Alyn explains that there are things to shoot in the night sky all year round. The Milky Way is best shot between March and September, as this is when you can see its core. In March and April, it is visible in the southeast just before sunrise. In summer, it is due south, and visible all night. In August and September, it is seen in the southwest just after sunset. Alyn uses his PhotoPills app, which combines a view of the bay from the phone’s camera to create a simulation of what the Milky Way will look like here in a couple of hours’ time. Although Alyn studied astronomy at university, he didn’t get into photography until later. “I was living off baked beans, back then – I didn’t have enough money for a camera,” he explains. It was seeing the Perseids meteor shower on holiday in Turkey in 2015
One of Alyn’s images of bioluminescent plankton at Three Cliffs Bay, Gower.
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OCTOBER 2018
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11.00pm
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Inside a pro’s camera bag Alyn Wallace reveals the key bits of kit in his backpack
Sony Alpha 7 III
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“I’ve been using an A7S II for shooting video for a while, but have just switched to Sony for shooting stills too. It made sense to use one system, and the A7 III performs better than my old Canon EOS 6D II.”
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Pixel TW-283
“A Wireless remote that I use to fire the shutter, for timelapse and long-distance selfies.”
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Multimat Kumfie
“Sold in camping shops for about a fiver, this folds up in my backpack and is very light, but can be used to kneel on.”
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“Fast wide lenses are essential for shooting astrophotography. The Tokina Firin 20mm f/2 is a new favourite – as is Samyang’s 24mm f/1.4 (which is currently away being serviced). I also carry around Sony’s own G Master 16-35mm f/2.8 and a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art.”
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4 Sigma 8mm
f/3.5 Fisheye
“This gives a 180° view; I use it to get shots of the whole of the night sky in one exposure. It is great for meteor showers – or for showing light pollution. It’s a Canonmount, but I use it with Sigma’s own MC-11 E-Mount adaptor so it fits on my Sony.”
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Haribo Starmix
“These sweets are perfect for a quick energy boost if you start to flag during a long night’s work. I always have a packet in my bag.”
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Tokina Firin 20mm f/2
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YSF SiFo Rotator
“The SiFo Rotator is a motorised pan head with a built-in rechargeable battery. It can be used for time-lapses, but it can also be used for star tracking – this involves panning the camera to match the earth’s rotation, to avoid blur in long exposures. You align the head with the North Star using an optional laser pointer.”
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CDs
“To stop my tripod from sinking into the sand during a long expsoure, I unscrew the feet of my Benro Travel Angel FTA28C tripod and attach old CD-ROMs.”
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Subject
Jupiter at twilight
Lens
Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM at 16mm
Exposure
10 sec at f/3.5, ISO 800
that persuaded him that he needed a DSLR. He was working in design engineering back then – but his astrophotography has since taken over. He became a full-time pro in January 2018. Alyn is now running workshops for those who want to learn more about shooting the stars, and is working on a book that he has been given a deal to write. He sells his own Lightroom presets too – these are designed to give a structured workflow for those who want to edit and enhance their astro images. The presets (£20 from www. alynwallacephotography.com) give his own formulae for reducing noise, making the stars stand out from the dark sky, sharpening, colour grading and more. His next venture is to develop and market filters for star photographers (see page 12) – he has several variants from the manufacturer he is working with in his bag, which he is currently trialling. Having the right kit for the job is essential for astrophotography – but it all fits very neatly into a sensibly sized backpack. Alyn is a convert to mirrorless cameras now – using a Sony Alpha 7 III as his main stills camera. But it is the choice of lens that is even more essential. He needs wide lenses – but also ones that are as wideapertured as possible so that they can let in as much light as possible without having to use even higher ISOs. The most impressive piece of kit, though, has to be his star-tracking head. This motorised unit fits onto the ballhead of his tripod, and follows the night sky. But its party trick is the built-in laser pointer that he uses to align the unit with the Pole Star – it shoots a powerful green beam up into space when he switches it on. His current YSF unit, costing $299 from www.movehootmove.com, is much lighter than previous models he has used. www.digitalcameraworld.com
Subject
Milky Way over Three Cliffs Bay
Lens
Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM at 17mm
Exposure
80 sec at f/2.8, ISO 3.200
12.05am
The 500 rule
With a three-stop hard ND grad and a 15-stop ND, this shot was a four-minute exposure.
Set up for the stars You need a wide-apertured wide-angle lens. An f/2.8 is good – but wider is better. You will also need a good sturdy tripod. Set the aperture to f/2.8, and the ISO to 3,200 or 6,400. This will give you a shutter speed of around 15-30 seconds.
Check the composition. You can use a test shot at a higher ISO of say 50,000 so that the exposure is just a couple of seconds. The Sony Alpha 7 III has a Bright Monitoring feature, which gives a better exposure simulation in Live View, so this trick is not necessary.
Focus manually in Live View – zoom in on the brightest star on the camera’s rear display to ensure that is sharp.
Use a wireless remote, but also have the camera set to fire after a twosecond delay, to minimise vibrations.
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www.digitalcameraworld.com
As the earth is spinning, and the stars slowly move across the frame, ‘the 500 rule’ lets you work out the longest shutter speed you can use. Divide 500 by the effective focal length of your lens – so for a 24mm, the longest shutter speed will be 20 sec. For longer exposures, you need a motorised star-tracking head – or combine shorter exposures with the free Sequator stacking program.
12.20am
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Subject
180° view of Milky Way
Lens
Sigma 8mm f/3.5 Circular Fisheye
Exposure
50 sec at f/3.5, ISO 3,200
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1.25am Subject
Selfie with Ursa Major
Lens
Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM at 35mm
Exposure
10 sec at f/2.8, ISO 6,400 with starglow filter
Using a starglow filter A drawback of digital cameras is that they capture so many stars, including those not visible to the naked eye. Alyn often uses a fog filter to create a soft-focus effect that makes the brightest stars glow, while leaving weaker stars unaffected. This helps make constellations more visible in his shots, such as in this image of the Big Dipper. Alyn plans to be marketing his own starglow filters soon.
Jupiter is one of the planets that we can see clearly, and Alyn takes pictures of it as the sky starts to darken. He frames the shot so the planet’s glow reflects in the wet sand of the beach. Our shot of the Milky Way looks strong – but it’s marred by a group of revellers who have lit a fire at the base of the cliff. We wait patiently for the blaze to die down so that’s less of a distraction in the composition. Next Alyn gets out his circular fisheye lens, shooting directly upwards to capture the whole of the Milky Way’s core across the night. With the tide receding, we move to a rock that is now fully exposed in the bay. Here Alyn sets up to shoot one of his signature selfies – adding himself as a scale object in his nightscape. Angling the camera so that Ursa Major is behind the rock, he scales the rock and fires the camera wireless from some 40 metres away. A few more minutes and the ISS will be due – so Alyn scurries into position on the other side of 12
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No filter
With filter
the rock, to get the shot set up for this extra-longexposure image of the space station streaking slowly across the sky. Just as we begin pack up, Alyn notices a small detail in one of his pictures... a glow of blue in the water. We hurry down to the water’s edge for a closer look. Sure enough, the waves break to create a blue glow – just as in his shots. It’s not enough to take pictures of this time – but it’s a stunning thing to see all the same.
The ISS is due, so Alyn scurries into position to get the shot set up
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